JMantheDrumMan

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Everything posted by JMantheDrumMan

  1. Almost finished reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. An extremely funny travel memoir about two guys who hike the Appalachian Trail. I highly recommend it.
  2. Thanks for all the replies. So it looks as though I have the standard cadmium buckles. I've taken a closer look at them too see if it's just a dirt issue. It doesn't seem to be, but I'm going to give them a good cleaning anyway. I didn't really want to resort to putting a bunch of rubber bands on my leg straps but I guess it's always an option. Also, I don't have an articulated harness so switching out the buckles will be too expensive for me. Thanks for all the suggestions, though.
  3. I did a quick search and couldn't quite find the answer I was looking for so maybe someone here can help... I recently purchased at Mirage G3 container from one of the packers at my DZ. It was manufactured in Jan. of 2001 and I believe I'm the third, possibly fourth owner. The rig is in, overall, great shape and I'm very pleased with it except for one thing. The Leg straps tend to loosen up extremely easily... Especially the right leg strap. The hardware seems to be worn quite a bit. Now, I don't think it's a safety concern just yet, mostly just a comfort concern. I usually cinch down the leg straps completely either just before or just after mocking up an exit. In the approximate 1-3 minutes I'm at the loading area waiting for the plane to arrive, I have to re-cinch at least once. Then another time once I'm on the plane, performing my pre jump checks. The straps usually loosen up about an inch or two upon opening, but seem to stay put after I have a fully inflated canopy. Again, I don't think it's a safety concern, just comfort. So my question is this... Is it possible and or very difficult to have the hardware replaced? Could I order hardware from say, wichard or mirage? Is this something my rigger could do for me or would I have to send it to the manufacturer? Is there maybe something I can do for a quick fix like sanding or roughing up the hardware a little bit? Thanks for the help. Jason
  4. Coming from someone who just got off of student status a month ago, my number one piece of advice for every single skydive you make is this... HAVE FUN! If you jump out of the plane, make sure you have a smile on your face... Make sure your instructors see it, because they like to know that they're dealing with a fun person who genuinely wants to be in the sky. If there's a camera and you've gotten through your dive flow... GEEK IT! The more you're smiling, the more relaxed you are, and the better you fly.
  5. They were all incredibly fun. Friday, I did G2, H1 and H2. Saturday, I did H3 and as I was debriefing with my coach, I suddenly realized that my next skydive was a solo. My main question to everyone is this.... What did you do on your first solo skydive? How did you exit? And what where you thinking about? Anyway, I had a blast the rest of the weekend. I did three solos, a three way, and a couple more coach jumps. Not to mention the check dive which was so much fun it should be illegal.
  6. Wow... I though I was knocking it out quick. Not anymore. I made my first tandem on the 8th of August then on the 21st I went through AFF 1 and a month later I've got 11 jumps under my belt. My goal is to have my A license by November and if I can really crank it out, have my B license by Christmas.
  7. I am primarily a percussionist. I started playing electric guitar in the 3rd grade, learned a few tunes, and put it away. Come 6th grade, I joined the percussion section of the band and have been doing that for about 9 years. I went to TCU to study Music Education in percussion where I studied orchestral snare drum, Marimba, hand drums, Jazz and Latin drumset, etc. etc... anything percussion, but decided it wasn't for me. In 2007, I marched with the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps and toured the country all summer long. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrU9mDYYqc8&feature=search I'm the guy on closest to the camera playing tenors. Anyway, I continue to play drumkit nearly every single day. Smooth Jazz being my forte. I was saving up for a new kit when I did my first tandem... Now I've started AFF and I can kiss that new kit goodbye. Just recently I've acquired a Jazz Bass and I've been learning more and more on that. It's incredibly fun.
  8. So what happens if I complete AFF before I turn 21? Or make any other firsts for that matter? Do I accumulate beer buys and pay them off once I turn 21 or am I off the hook?
  9. Yeah. I've saved up quite a bit of money so I can get my AFF done pretty quickly, or so I hope.... But I have no clue how I'll afford my own rig once that time comes. And thanks for the source on that quote.
  10. Hi everyone. My name is Jason and two weeks ago, on Aug. 8th, 2010 at approximately 4:15 pm, I made my first tandem jump and since then it's all that I can think about. Ever since I was 6 years old I've dreamed of jumping out of a plane and last chirstmas, my girlfriend bought me a voucher for one tandem jump at Skydive Houston. I finally got a round to redeeming it and it was the single most memorable experience of my entire life. My buddy had done his first tandem about a month before me and told me all about it. He said that he wasn't nervous until he got on the plane... then the anticipation grabbed hold of him. For me it was a little different. We got to the DZ about 30 minutes before our reservation just to be safe and ended up waiting around for about an hour and a half. No big deal, the atmosphere was so awesome that I didn't mind the wait at all. My girlfriend was getting more nervous by the minute, but I was surprisingly calm. After getting all harnessed up, we were out to board the plane. I was the first to board with my TI, Adam. What a great guy. He made me feel extremely comfortable. For me, the nerves didn't hit until my toes were on the edge of the door. Suddenly, staring two and a half miles down, my whole body screamed, "THIS ISN'T RIGHT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING??" and then out we went. As soon as my feet left the plane, all fear and anxiety vanished. It was PURE ELATION. Every second of my skydive put me in a state of complete and utter happiness. Honestly think that the canopy flight was the coolest part. the feeling of making even the gentlest of turns was incredible. After the jump, the day only got better. My girlfriend and I ended up going to our favorite sushi place and had a fantastic meal, then watched Burn After Reading, one of the Coen Bros. best movies, IMHO. It was seriously the greatest day of my life. Needless to say, I'm completely hooked. I called SDH a week later to make my reservations for AFF Level 1. If I can afford it, and if they have time, I'm going to try and make my first 3 AFF jumps this weekend. It can't come soon enough. I've been lurking around these forums for about a week now, absorbing as much info as I can. Not to mention watching hundreds of videos from where ever I can find them. And it's only made me more excited and reassured me of my decision to make this part of my life. I'm not so sure my mom is too excited about it. Not so much the fact that I'll be jumping out of a plane, but that I'm going to spend nearly 2 and a half grand on learning how to do it. Oh well... I can't stay away. I came across another user's signature yesterday and I'm sorry I can't remember whose it was but I'll end my first post with it because it is exactly how I've felt these past two weeks. "...and once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you long to return." Blue Skies, everyone.